72 hours after I gave birth, my mom walked into my hospital room with custody papers for my baby. She said my “infertile” sister deserved him more than I did. I paid $42,500 for her IVF treatments.

On my son’s first birthday, he smashed cake into his hair while my friends laughed around the kitchen.

My phone buzzed once with a voicemail from a blocked number I never listened to.

I deleted it.

Then I lifted my son high into the air, and he laughed like thunder cracking open the sky.

For the first time in my life, nobody was taking anything from me.

And nobody ever would again.